Multiple Sclerosis : Present and Future

This book is based on the papers delivered at an International Workshop on Multiple Sclerosis held in Erice, Italy from 29th August to 1st September 1983. The Meeting was organized with great efficiency in the delightful setting of the Centro di Cultura Scientifica Ettore Mahorana, by its Director, Antonino Zichichi, and was directed by the Editors of the Proceedings and by Professor C. Alvisi of the University of Bologna. The emphasis was deliberately on the contributions of laboratory science to the understanding of mUltiple sclerosis, its etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Where so much is unknown, disagreement was expected and indeed welcome, and it is regrettable that it was not possible to publish verbatim the often animated and always interesting discussion. Differing views on the relevance of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis to multiple sclerosis were expressed by Dr. Wisniewski, Professor Seitelberger and Professor Alvord, who graphi cally illustrated his changing beliefs over the years. Professor Seitelberger laid much greater emphasis on remyelination in remission in mUltiple sclerosis than had previously been the accepted view. The disorder of both humoral and cellular immunity in multiple scler osis was discussed by Dr. Roos and Professor Link. Dr. Gilden described how recombinative techniques might be applied to the detec tion of a virus in multiple sclerosis. The continued inability to detect any antigen to match the oligoclonal IgG bands in the CSF in multiple sclerosis patients was disappointing and there was an increasing tendency to regard the bands as "nonsense" antibodies Front Matter....Pages i-viii Pathogenesis of Perivenous and Demyelinating Encephalomyelitis and Its Relevance for Multiple Sclerosis Research....Pages 1-21 Comparative Neuropathology and Pathogenetic Aspects of Chronic Relapsing Experimental Encephalomyelitis and Multiple Sclerosis....Pages 23-40 What Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis Teaches Us About Multiple Sclerosis....Pages 41-54 Antigen and Antibody Studies in Demyelinating Disease....Pages 55-69 Studies on B-Lymphocyte Function in Multiple Sclerosis....Pages 71-91 Varicella-Zoster Virus Latency in The Nervous System....Pages 93-102 The Myelin Associated Glycoprotein In Demyelinating Diseases....Pages 103-109 Cerebrospinal Fluid Immunoelectrophoretic Findings in Multiple Sclerosis....Pages 111-117 Multiple Sclerosis: An Abiotrophy with Heuristic Implications....Pages 119-143 Plasticity of Conduction Processes in Demyelinated Nerve Fibers: Implications for Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis....Pages 145-170 Recent Status of Epidemiological Studies on Multiple Sclerosis in Italy....Pages 171-180 Recent Descriptive Surveys on Multiple Sclerosis in Sardina and in the Province of Ferrara, Italy....Pages 181-185 Evoked Potentials in the Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis....Pages 187-204 Clinical Implications of Studies Involving Cerebrospinal Fluid T Cell Subpopulations....Pages 205-213 Immunological Treatments in Multiple Sclerosis: Rationale, Results and New Avenues....Pages 215-257 Back Matter....Pages 259-265